Letter writer's challenge on issues accepted

Jamie McVickar was amused by the letters criticizing Obama’s performance in office. So in response he writes a letter that brings into focus his lack of knowledge regarding the areas he expounds upon. His analysis is superficial and what you hear on MSNBC almost any night of the week. Which might explain why no one watches MSNBC. In addition his letter highlights a selective memory on exactly what newly elected President Obama promised he would do for our economy, none of which has been fulfilled.

Then he proposes a challenge for someone to respond, insinuating his comments about the economy and Obama’s economic performance are beyond reproach. Well it took me all of 10 seconds to accept the challenge.

You are not going to believe much of what I say so let me start with Obama’s new Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen. In a recent speech, Ms. Yellen said, “the recovery still feels like a recession to many Americans and it also looks that way in some economic statistics”... she said the job market is weak and the economy still needs the fed to support it. The stock market took off on those comments, triple digit gains, which I assume to your eyes is good news. That’s because your analysis of our economic situation is superficial.

Wall Street was celebrating because it means the Fed is going to continue micro managing the economy by printing money, buying bonds, borrowing and keeping interest rates at near zero. They are doing all those things not because the economy is good but because it is sick. There is an old Wall Street adage, ”don’t fight the fed” ... that means that no matter how bad things are, if the Fed is going to drop money from helicopters to keep propping up the economy then pop the champagne corks boys and girls, the party ain’t over yet. We are doing what any good banana republic has done to keep its economy floating and the ending is never pretty.

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Back to Ms. Yellen’s comments. It still feels like we are in a recession she says. Have you forgotten that we are six years down the road from where President Obama said give me my trillion dollar, shovel ready, stimulus package and the economy will take off, people will be working again.

Joe Biden a few years ago said we are in the summer of our recovery. No we are not. The current unemployment numbers are marginally better only because millions have dropped out of the work force, we are not looking at REAL numbers. Others are working at a fraction of their former salary, still others work two lousy jobs to make up for the good one they lost. We have the highest number of people on government assistance in our history, food stamps at record highs. And the other number that is through the roof is the number of people on disability. Do you really think there has been an epidemic of back injuries? No, for some disability is the next best thing to a job in Obama’s jobless economy.

The job numbers you think point to success are a mirage, not grounded in fact because they don’t include the millions who have dropped out of the job market. They are no more to be believed than the “you can keep your doctor” promise. If you don’t believe me then believe Janet Yellin ... she does not believe the economy can survive without the Fed dropping money from the skies. Six years, trillions wasted and this economy can still not stand on its own ... and you think that is good news? It’s apparent Ms. Yellen doesn’t.

I’ll address the GM bailout quickly. The bailout was a bad idea, poorly managed companies and the unions that helped get them there should fail. They will be taken over by stronger management and the “herd” grows stronger as a result, nature teaches us that simple fact. That taxpayer funded bailout was more for the UAW than it was for GM. Nothing more than a political payback to union cronies at taxpayers expense. Bond holders were subjugated to the union, a breach of contract. How would you like it if the government took your home, tore up a legal contract and divided the proceeds among their political cronies. That’s what they did to GM bond holders. GM should have gone into a restructuring controlled bankruptcy. The taxpayer should never have been involved.

For the record, America has a strong, growing automotive sector ... its just not in Detroit, its in the South where nonunion Americans are building Volkswagens, BMW’s, Toyotas, Hondas and happily voting down every UAW attempt to unionize those productive plants. And guess what, not one of those companies needed a taxpayer bailout to survive.